Crews close open sewer after boy nearly falls in

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A little boy nearly fell into an open storm drain that neighbors said they’d been trying to get DeKalb County to fix for years.

“Imagine if that was a child,” said Johnnettea Fielderpitts, a neighbor, as she dropped a brick in the 15-to 20-foot hole.

It was almost a very bad situation for 7-year-old Raquan Williams.

“We was walking to the barber shop, and I almost fell, until my uncle Jamal came and saved me,” said Rauquan Williams, who lives in the neighborhood.

“I love all my nieces and nephews and to see him almost fall down in there was like seeing him in his grave,” said Jamal Williams.

Williams said he’s called DeKalb County to complain about the uncovered sewer drains on Maplecliff Drive and Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain.

“I’ve called DeKalb County and left numerous messages and no one responded,” Williams said.

Neighbors said the sewer drains have been uncovered for at least several years.

“I keep walking my dogs passed and trying to keep them from falling in,” said Ralph Woestermeyer, another neighbor.

When Williams told Channel 2 Action News about the problem and showed us the uncovered holes, we notified Burke Brennan, the communication officer with DeKalb County. About an hour later, a DeKalb County Public Works crew arrived and in just about 10 minutes, both holes were secured and covered.

“If I knew this is what it took this to get it fixed five years ago, I would have called Channel 2 News sooner,” Williams said.